a. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally pertains to antennas and more particularly to the use of multiple antennas for detecting GPS signals.
b. Description of the Background
GPS signals that are broadcast from satellites in stationary orbits are used by GPS receivers for generating location data to locate the receiver. More accurate location information can be generated as more satellites are detected.
In certain environments, satellite signals may be difficult to detect. For example, in urban areas, large buildings may block the reception of certain satellite signals. In this case, the GPS receiver may have a narrow satellite view and be able to only detect satellites in certain predetermined directions. Further, high foliage areas and other environmental effects may limit the direction in which satellite information can be detected. For example, telemetric devices may be used to track the location of a car. If a car is in an accident and turned over or sideways, a single GPS antenna may not be able to detect any satellite information because of the directional nature of the GPS antenna. The telemetric device would then be rendered useless. Additionally, objects may be stacked or placed on top of a telemetric device, or other GPS receiver, which may block a single GPS antenna from receiving any satellite data. Further, a GPS receiver may be attached to devices that are rotated, such as a cell phone or PDA, or caused to go into a dive, such as airplanes or other devices. The directional nature of the GPS antenna, again, may prevent a single GPS antenna from receiving satellite broadcasts that will allow the GPS device to generate location data. There are numerous scenarios in which this may occur.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a device that is capable of detecting GPS satellite broadcasts in multiple directions that would allow the GPS device to receive satellite broadcasts in various orientations and from different angles when an antenna may otherwise be blocked.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art by providing a GPS antenna array that is capable of detecting GPS satellite transmissions in multiple directions. In one embodiment, the present invention may be employed on a telemetric device in which GPS antennas are located on each side of a box holding the telemetric device. A relay switching array can be used to switch from one antenna to the next so that satellite information can be received from multiple antennas. The relay may cycle through each of the antennas, acquire satellites, process GPS data, store tracing information for each acquired satellite and then proceed to the next antenna. After each of the antennas has been sampled, the positional information can be calculated and stored in the GPS device.
The present invention may therefore comprise a method of detecting GPS satellite data from multiple directions comprising: providing a GPS antenna array having multiple antennas disposed in various orientations; providing a switch that is capable of connecting the multiple antennas to a GPS receiver; controlling the switch so that the GPS satellite data can be detected by the GPS receiver from the multiple antennas.
The present invention may further comprise a method of connecting a multiple GPS antenna array to a GPS receiver so that GPS satellite data can be detected from multiple directions comprising: connecting the GPS receiver to a first antenna of the multiple GPS antenna array; determining if the GPS satellite data can be acquired by the first antenna; detecting the GPS satellite data that can be acquired; switching to a next antenna whenever the GPS satellite data cannot be acquired; storing the GPS satellite data.
The present may further comprise a device for detecting GPS satellite data from multiple directions comprising: a GPS antenna array having multiple GPS antennas that are oriented in multiple directions; a switch that is connected to the GPS antenna array; a GPS receiver coupled to the switch that controls the switch such that the GPS receiver is connected to the multiple GPS antennas to receive the GPS satellite data from multiple directions and changes connections to the multiple GPS antennas whenever the GPS satellite data is not acquired.
The advantages of the present invention are that satellite data can be detected from multiple directions which allows the GPS receiver to detect satellite data in multiple orientations. The GPS antenna array can be disposed on any desired GPS receiver, including telemetric devices, cell phones, PDAs, etc. The directional nature of the GPS antenna can then be maintained to increase reception while not sacrificing the ability to detect satellite data from various directions. For example, if a telemetric device is mounted in an automobile and if that automobile is in a wreck and turned on its side or turned over, the telemetric device employing the present invention will still have one or more antennas that are oriented towards the sky that will enable the telemetric device to receive satellite transmissions.